Park People’s Executive Director, Erika Nikolai, has been honoured with the Distinguished Individual Award from World Urban Parks—an international recognition that celebrates her leadership and the growing national movement Park People has helped build here in Canada.
Why are events in parks important? How do grants fit into Park People’s larger goals for creating change in city parks?
The InTO the Ravines Champions program offers people living near ravines training and support to learn, explore, and celebrate Toronto's one-of-a-kind ravines system.
For years, Geri and Gary James drove an hour outside Toronto to find nature — not realizing one of the…
Ready to rally your crew and make a visible difference in your local park? This guide walks you through everything you need to host a successful community clean-up in Toronto
How do we build a healthier, greener, more joyful Toronto? We start at the park. Discover how communities across the city have transformed their green spaces over the past fifteen years. Then roll up your sleeves and help shape what comes next.
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Park People
Apr 20, 2026 Montreal, Quebec
We are pleased to introduce the new participants of our Montreal Urban Park Champions program!
This year, the program is taking a new direction: rather than activating existing parks, the Champions are reimagining underused spaces—paved areas, wastelands, or vacant lots—transforming them into green places that support biodiversity, climate resilience, and connections and exchanges among residents.
Discover the 2026 Champions and their projects.
In partnership with the Saint-Leonard Eco-Quartier, Claudia and Benfares aim to revitalize a traffic island located in a residential area.
The site already includes a tree and a partially grassed surface, but it is degraded by winter snow storage. The Champions hope to turn it into a small biodiversity hub through new plantings, making it a more visible, welcoming space rooted in everyday neighbourhood life.
Beyond the transformation, Claudia and Benfares want to raise awareness about the importance of greening practices. Saint-Leonard is a neighbourhood particularly affected by urban heat islands and flood risks, due to limited tree canopy and green space.
Site: Traffic island at the corner of Gauvreau and Périnault streets
A community group led by Louise is continuing the greening and maintenance of a 50-metre planting strip located between a sidewalk and a parking lot.
Since 2022, the site has revealed significant ecological value, including milkweed, essential to monarch butterflies, and a toad that has made it its home. Some plantings have already been completed, but parts of the site remain fragile due to foot traffic and vehicle movement. The Champions aim to continue their efforts to protect biodiversity, enhance the area’s appearance, and help reduce urban heat islands. A key challenge is encouraging greater involvement from surrounding communities.
Connected to the Falaise St. Jacques woodland, this area is part of a longer-term vision for an ecological corridor that supports east–west connectivity for pollinators and north–south connectivity with other green spaces.
Site: Banquette 2342, along Saint-Jacques Street
Xavier and Chantal are working on a project to green a corner space next to a building along the edge of the highway. The site, currently paved and unused, sits at the base of a building that houses artist and woodworking studios.
The Champions aim to transform this space into a greener, more welcoming place that encourages interaction and community gathering, which could also feature works by local artists. This project would be the first step in a broader series of revitalization efforts around Highway 40.
Site: 3333 Crémazie Boulevard
Each year, Park People Summits bring together our growing network of urban park changemakers to connect, reflect, and explore what’s possible for more inclusive, community-powered parks in our cities.
How a temporary plaza in Montreal’s Parc Marcelin-Wilson was created to offer a gathering space for youth, with design improvements informed by Metalude’s insights through direct observations and youth engagement.
Motivated to make a difference, Geneviève envisioned a sustainable response to address hunger in her community: a living and educational agriculture ecosystem composed of three urban gardens.